Brian Burns v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A02-1604-CR-894
| Ind. Ct. App. | Nov 22, 2016Background
- At ~4:00 a.m. on Jan. 26, 2016, Indianapolis officers responded to a “troubled person” call at a Speedway gas station and encountered Brian Burns.
- Burns approached officers from across the parking lot, waved his hands, puffed his chest, and yelled loudly with profanity and statements like “I am the authority.”
- Officers repeatedly told Burns to quiet down (Officer McAfee testified they asked 15–20 times over a ~30-minute period); Burns refused and continued yelling even after arrest and transport to jail.
- The disturbance disrupted the scene and gas station business: some customers drove off and others were gawking.
- State charged Burns with intimidation (dismissed) and disorderly conduct (Ind. Code § 35-45-1-3(a)(2)); a jury convicted him of disorderly conduct and the trial court sentenced him to 140 days executed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether evidence supported conviction for disorderly conduct (unreasonable noise continued after being asked to stop) | State: Burns loudly yelled, ignored repeated orders to stop, disrupted investigation and business, and continued after arrest | Burns: His volume was not context-inappropriate or too loud for the circumstances | Court: Sufficient evidence; noise was context-inappropriate and continued despite repeated warnings, supporting conviction |
Key Cases Cited
- Price v. State, 622 N.E.2d 954 (Ind. 1993) (criminalization of unreasonable noise targets harmful volume; focus on context-appropriate decibel level)
- Whittington v. State, 669 N.E.2d 1363 (Ind. 1996) (statute prohibits context-inappropriate volume; examples of harms from loud outbursts)
- Lock v. State, 971 N.E.2d 71 (Ind. 2012) (appellate standard for sufficiency review; defer to factfinder on credibility and weight)
- Drane v. State, 867 N.E.2d 144 (Ind. 2007) (evidence and reasonable inferences test for sufficiency)
- Tobar v. State, 740 N.E.2d 109 (Ind. 2000) (standard of review for sufficiency of the evidence)
- Humphries v. State, 568 N.E.2d 1033 (Ind. Ct. App. 1991) (officer’s instruction to stop yelling supports conclusion the voice was unreasonably loud)